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Category: Wine Production

The Society of Vintners originated from the Allied Wine Buyers Consortium and the Nottingham Wine Buying Group. Back in 1979, five established Nottingham Wine Merchants met and decided to merge their businesses. The outcome of the merger was known as the Nottingham Wine Buying Group. This merge enabled the five merchants to thrive in the wine marketplace as one entity. After they had finalized the merger, they decided to appoint John Walton as the chair. Walton served in the company as chairman for 20 years.

The Nottingham Wine Buying Group (http://www.societyvintners.co.uk/aboutus.html) received support from companies such as Distillers Company for its sweet wine. In 1960, Lew Curtis and Arthur Rackham founded Allied Wine Buyers Consortium. The two wine merchants were based in North London. Allied Wine Buyers Consortium acquired over 20 members in Midlands and South England. The company later merged with Nottingham Wine Buying Group. After the merger, Allied Wine Buyers Consortium handled shipping while Nottingham Wine Buying Group handled national supplies.

Tasting

The Group meets in Bordeaux, France for wine tasting. Lawrence Page, the group’s chair, said that the wine tasting event brings together 25 members. These members come from Channel Islands, Scotland, Wales, and England. Wine tasting takes place four times a year. During the event, purchasing strategies for the group are usually reviewed.

Tours

Members of the Society of Vintners recently visited Quinta das Carvalhas. Located in Portugal, the tour site is the leading wine supplier for the group. During the tour, group members were enlightened on how wine is produced from the grassroots level.

Addition of New Members

VWT (Guernsey), ABV Wholesale, and Forth Wines joined the Society of Vintners as new members. The three companies will expand the group’s services to all parts of the UK. John Mansfield as the group’s chief executive said that the new additions would strengthen the organization’s services in Scotland, West Country, and the Channel Islands. He also mentioned that the new members would help Vintners in the UK in producing diverse wines and increase its customer base.

Duties of Professional Vintners

UK Vintners work closely with viticulturists when making wine. They usually decide the right grape and processing methods that would produce quality wine. Most wine making processes are seasonal. Furthermore, vintners work for 40 hours every week after grape harvesting begins. They should be competent in enology, grape cultivation, and viticulture. These topics are studied in college at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Vintners in the United Kingdom should have studied these educational topics for entrepreneurship and management of vineyards.